Descrizione del progetto
Grandi progetti per ridurre le microplastiche nei sedimenti d’acqua dolce
Dopo l’età della pietra, del bronzo e del ferro… benvenuti nell’età della plastica! Si tratta del materiale che definisce in modo migliore il periodo odierno, venendo utilizzata tutti i giorni. Sfortunatamente, l’inquinamento dovuto alla plastica sta crescendo a una velocità allarmante. La plastica biodegradabile, che si sta progressivamente affermando come alternativa, può essere mineralizzata in determinate condizioni di temperatura e umidità. Oltre 28 milioni di tonnellate di plastica finiscono ogni anno all’interno di corpi idrici. Alla luce di queste premesse, il progetto SEDIPLASTIC, finanziato dal programma MSCA, esplorerà e fornirà nuove conoscenze in merito agli effetti esercitati dalle microplastiche (biodegradabili e non biodegradabili) sui sedimenti d’acqua dolce in condizioni di cambiamento globale. Inoltre, per incrementare la nostra comprensione del modo in cui le microplastiche possono influenzare i servizi ecosistemici, il progetto concepirà un modello predittivo. I risultati ottenuti da SEDIPLASTIC andranno a beneficio del mondo accademico e di quello industriale, nonché della pubblica amministrazione e del benessere sociale.
Obiettivo
We live in the “plastic age”. Plastics are key for societal innovation and used on a daily basis. However, due to their ubiquity, persistence, inadequate management & improper waste disposal, they tend to accumulate in the environment. Besides, during their life cycle, they degrade into tiny polluting bits called microplastics (MP<5mm), considered a major environmental threat. Biodegradable plastics (BioMP) have become an alternative since they can be mineralized under certain temperature and moisture conditions. Fluvial sediments and their inherent microbial communities could potentially decompose BioMP due to their role as a nutrient recycling and its high enzymatic activity. However, how the degradation of BioMP will affect nutrient re-cycles in aquatic ecosystems, an essential ecological service, is still unknown. In addition, global change, especially, rising temperature, and hydrologic extreme events, mobilize plastics in freshwater systems and further degrading them into MPs. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop tools to assess, predict and mitigate their effects on freshwater ecosystems.
SEDIPLASTIC seeks to explore and provide new knowledge on MP (non- and biodegradable) effects on freshwater sediments under global change conditions. Sediment columns with different grain size, with/without microbial communities, and microparticles (inert, MP, BioMP) will be used. Hydrological parameters, nutrients, dissolved organic carbon, bacterial biomass, viability, and functionality, and MP mobility and degradation will be analysed. Moreover, to better understand the key role of MP in freshwater sediments and how can affect ecosystems services, a predictive model will be developed using project experimental data. Project outcomes will impact beyond academia providing novel tools for industry, government, and thus societal wellbeing. It will contribute to major EU research priorities and to global efforts such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (6, 12, & 14).
Campo scientifico
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwaste managementwaste treatment processesrecycling
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculturegrains and oilseeds
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystemsfreshwater ecosystems
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesenvironmental sciencespollution
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental scienceshydrologylimnology
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Meccanismo di finanziamento
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European FellowshipsCoordinatore
17004 Girona
Spagna